We sit down with Derric Bakker, MBA, founder and CEO of Dickerson Bakker and author of A Better Way to Fundraise: Treat Every Donor Like a Major Donor, to discuss why modern fundraising feels increasingly transactional, exhausting, and disconnected from its true purpose.

Derric shares the airport story that inspired his philosophy and outlines why every supporter—regardless of gift size—deserves to feel seen, valued, stewarded, and invited into meaningful partnership. The conversation breaks down the seven behaviors of relationship-based fundraising, explains how AI can be leveraged to listen to donors at scale without losing authentic human-to-human connection, and offers a compelling path forward to cure fundraiser burnout.